I would say that I dress like most of my peers. I usually dress according to trends that are popular and get most of my fashion ideas from my friends. I think that most of my friends dress in clothes that are fashionable and flattering and I try to model my own dress code after them because of this. I love to dress up for more formal events and enjoy looking feminine in fun clothes.  My friends and I hold ourselves to high standards in school work, jobs, and relationships. We do our best in all situations and I believe that our fashion choices also represent this. I do not have any tattoos, and only a few of my friends have tattoos. These tattoos are all in places that are easily covered by clothes and jewelry in order to be sure that job opportunities in the future are not lost due to biases against tattoos. In addition, very few of my friends have outstanding body piercings. I know a few people who have multiple ear piercings in their cartilage, but very few of my peers choose to have facial piercings. I have a piercing in my belly button, as do a few of my friends. As of right now, I would not get any other piercings because I do not want to do anything that could hurt my chances of getting a professional job in the future. I think that my friends and I all influence each other’s choices in body modification like tattoos and piercings because we all have similar beliefs that body modification should be done sparingly.

My family is relatively conservative.  Nobody in my immediate or extended family has any tattoos or body piercings.  Everyone tends to think that getting tattoos is somewhat taboo, or unacceptable in our family. In addition, my parents believe that we should not alter our bodies in ways that cannot be undone. I don’t have any strong opinions about tattoos, but I think that they can be flattering. I have thought about getting a tattoo before, however, I think it would be something I regret doing. Currently, there is nothing important enough to me that I want to look at it on my body for the rest of my life. My family values hard work and dedication to family and friends. They are a huge influence on the way I choose to dress and represent myself. I understand that people form opinions about others immediately upon seeing the way that people dress and adorn themselves, and I wouldn’t want anyone in my family to judge me negatively because of any body adornments.

Over the years, I have become much more accepting of body ornamentation such as tattoos and body piercings. As I’ve grown up, more and more people I know have decided to get these things done and I’ve become used to it. In the area that I grew up, young people would get tattoos without telling their parents because most parents held beliefs similar to those of my parents. I used to be surprised when people would get tattoos because of the conservative nature of my family and neighborhood, however, I feel that tattoos have become much more common in popular culture. They seem to have broken through to mainstream culture now, whereas they used to be much less common. Perhaps it only seems this way to me because more people choose to get them as they get older and I am around many more people with tattoos now.

I believe that I make the choices I do because of the way I’ve been raised. I feel that families always have a huge impact on the choices people make in their lives and that I am no exception. I have branched from my family somewhat in that I think tattoos can actually really look nice on people, even though I would likely still never get one. In addition, I do have a belly piercing and my parents accepted this because it is not seen by anybody. In high school I got my ear cartilage pierced, which my parents never liked. It was something I thought looked fine, but chose to take out after a couple of years. My parents have always tended to let me choose all my clothes for myself and I feel that this has helped me to develop self confidence and independence. I am sure that my thoughts and feelings about body ornamentation will continue to develop throughout the years as I get older and as trends change.

-Man walks in with Motorcycle helmet

• I see this man walk in and set his helmet down at an available spot at a table. He is dressed in very warm clothes including a sweater, North Face vest, and a thick windbreaker shell. He has warm pants and black boots on, as well. He puts on reading glasses and goes to order a coffee.
  • I think that this man might really appreciate a ride on his motorcycle because although it is sunny, it is very cold outside. Just an hour ago the temperature was in the thirties. He must relish the days without rain because they allow him to ride on his bike without getting wet. He must not mind the cold weather and dresses to prevent it from affecting his ride on his motorcycle.
  • Soon, this man takes off his many layers and sits in a plain gray sweatshirt before retrieving his computer from his bag and beginning to work.
    • Based on his attire, I can be lead to believe that this man dresses for necessity, instead of based on fashionable trends. He wore layers to protect himself from the cold outside, and now that he is in the warm coffee house and has shed those layers, his gray sweatshirt leads me to believe that he is not there to impress anybody, but to get work done and to be productive. The style of this man’s attire does not give me any more information. He looks clean which leads me to believe that he is in a good emotional state because unhappy people generally care less about their outer appearance.  Otherwise, I think this man looks like he values comfort when doing work, but doesn’t want to look unkempt or sloppy.

-A woman walks into the coffee house wearing a blue coat that looks very warm. When she takes off her coat, she is wearing a bright gold sweater underneath. She has black, high-waist jeans on and short black boots/booties. Her hair is tied up and she is wearing natural-looking makeup. This woman is dressed fashionably and in a way that flatters her. She looks like she put effort into her outfit this morning.

• From this information, I assume that this woman cares about what other people think of her appearance. I think she must want people to respect her and see that she holds herself confidently. Her hair being tied up in a ponytail make me think that she was also aware that she would be doing work today and didn’t want to put too much effort into her hair when it would be tucked behind her ears or something while she types on her computer.  In addition, she is dressed similarly to many people I see in Eugene. Because of this, I think that she must value fitting in and not standing out too much from the crowd.

– A man walks into the coffee house with blue jeans, a brown corduroy jacket, and a red beanie on. He has a simple t-shirt on underneath the brown jacket and has black Converse All-Stars. His hair is long under his beanie.

• From the way this man looks,  he appears to value his appearance in a way that doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard. His jeans look new and fresh. His jacket looks clean and cared for. His t-shirt has no wrinkles and his shoes are not scuffed. But other than these details, his outfit does not look like it took him too much effort to put together. It is an easy, comfortable look. I wonder if the man wore his beanie because it’s cold out or because he always wears them and it is part of his main wardrobe in the summer as well. I believe this man cares about what people think of him due to the cleanliness of his clothes, but I also think he may not want to look too “overdone” because he doesn’t want to appear to spend too much time on his looks. His long hair underneath his beanie gives the only hint of an “unkempt” look although it does look clean and cared for. I think this man wants to fit into the usual Eugene style as well, not wanting to stand out from the crowd.